Well, here’s one press release I never saw coming!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s long awaited, much anticipated fourth studio album has finally been granted a solid release date in the UK: June 6.

On the same day, La Bex will release her latest single “Starlight,” an utterly lush mixture of chilly vocals and warm Italo-disco pulsations that first leaked a few weeks ago.

Haven’t heard it yet? Click below to hear the upcoming single streaming in full, courtesy of Purple Entertainment!

And now, the full press release:

Sophie Ellis-Bextor will release new single ‘Starlight, the follow-up to the international hit ‘Not Giving Up On Love’, on 6th June followed by her new album ‘Make A Scene’ on the same day.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back with album number four, after baby number two, looking and sounding better than ever. With a sound that is a mixture of pop, Disco, Nu-Disco and 1980s electronica, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has become established as a multi-platinum selling artist over the past decade. With hit singles such as ‘Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me), ‘Get Over You / Move This Mountain’ and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ under her belt, Sophie still remains one of today’s most exciting British female solo artists.

‘Starlight’ is a perfect chilled dance anthem that is instantly catchy with a soft but edgy beat. It is a track that can easily take you from sun lounger by day to nightclub by evening and is the perfect summer anthem.

Sophie’s new album ‘Make A Scene’ is an exciting and energetic pop juggernaut on which Sophie was heavily involved with all parts, including co-writing much of it and working with an in-demand team of writers and producers that includes Freemasons, Greg Kurstin, Calvin Harris, Cathy Dennis, Metronomy, Richard X and Armin Van Buuren.

Two songs on the record come from the renowned Freemasons. The first, ‘Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)’ was not just a massive success in the UK but also went on to become one of Sophie’s biggest successes on the continent, particularly Russia where it reached number two in the chart. The second song is the single ‘Bittersweet’ which is a euphoric and emotive epic track with dramatic drum machines and cold eighties synths.

The albums opener ‘Revolution’ was written with Greg Kurstin (Kylie, Lily Allen and Ke$ha) and Cathy Dennis and with its catchy gritty bass and crunching beats it is the perfect upbeat introduction to ‘Make A Scene’. Sophie also worked with Calvin Harris on the album on track ‘Off & On’ which is an edgy, electro track which has the trademark Calvin Harris sound mixed with Sophie’s smooth vocals, and is sure to be a hit.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor emerged ten years ago with rare poise amidst the most memorable chart scuffle since Brit pop. ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’ with Italian producer Spiller, her debut solo release (after splitting with rock band The Audience), has recently been awarded the astonishing accolade of the decade’s most played track on radio.

Sophie will be touring the UK this summer alongside both Erasure and Bryan Ferry as well as performing at a host of boutique UK festivals.

I’M SO EXCITED!

I don’t want to tempt fate, but if that’s not a number one, I’ll eat my sofa.

As the man responsible for such songs as Diana Vickers‘ “The Boy Who Murdered Love,” The Saturdays‘ “Chasing Lights,” and Will Young‘s “Anything is Possible,” as well as some of the upcoming material from Pixie Lott and JLS, pop songwriter and producer Chris Braide has seen his fair share of glory in the UK Top 40 recently.

Two weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of speaking with the busy producer from his studio in London (which is about to be packed away and carted stateside!)

I’m quite proud of this interview–we touched upon all sorts of artists and ended up having a really in-depth discussion about the very nature of pop itself.

Read on to hear all the gossip from behind Braide’s soundboard–loads of pop nerd chatter ahead!

Click “Read More…” to view the entire interview.

Read more »

So, this is something new and interesting.

The night before my interview with Sky Ferreira, I received a vaguely mysterious e-mail from MuuMuse reader Sam Lansky with an attachment entitled “Fame Fatale.” The e-mail suggested that the attached may assist me in preparing for my interview.

As soon as I began reading, I already knew: This had to be published immediately.

“Fame Fatale” is not only a remarkably in-depth analysis (and personal account) of Ferreira’s curious rise to fame, but a thoughtful contemplation of the manufacturing of the modern pop star and the very conventions of the music industry itself. It’s extremely well-researched, poses tough questions, and deserves your full attention.

With his permission, I’ve asked Sam to feature his article on MuuMuse. It’s an incredible piece, and I do highly recommend that all of my Muusers give it a thorough reading–even if it’s “tl;dr” territory.

I do, after all, hope to keep a literate company.

Click “Read More…” to read Sam Lansky’s “Fame Fatale: The Rise of Sky Ferreira.”

Read More…

In December of 2008, 19-year-old singer Diana Vickers was prematurely eliminated from the fifth season of the UK’s X Factor.

Within months after her departure however, the young singer was already creating a healthy amount of buzz around her debut–enough to nearly overshadow that of her former competitor’s efforts, Alexandra Burke and JLS.

The buzz was due to an ever-expanding rumor list of drool-worthy collaborators and musical legends, including Guy Sigsworth, Starsmith, Chris Braide, and Cathy Dennis. As the news trickled down, the promise of these recording sessions grew greater, as fans waited to hear what the quirky singer was quietly cooking up in the studio.

Then came the release of the singer’s debut single, “Once,” an instantly catchy, thrilling rush of explosive choruses and big bass beats. The single proved that Vickers’ odd, hushed delivery and near-broken vocals lent themselves perfectly to pop, causing the song to rocket to the #1 spot on the UK Singles Chart in late April of 2010. Her debut album soon followed on May 3, which also hit the #1 spot on the UK Album Chart the following week.

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree is incredibly solid electro-pop package, colored by an unconventionally raspy voice and a youthful spirit. Neither dance music nor torch song balladry, Vickers’ album is a refreshing blend of bright electronic hooks and classic crooning, refusing to be characterized in either direction.

With glittering, multi-layered electronica-inspired songs like “You’ll Never Get To Heaven,” “My Hip,” and “Remake Me & You,” Vickers follows in line with such artists as Ellie Goulding and Imogen Heap) in forging the somewhat newly founded genre of indie electro pop. The songs, which feature extensive production and wild, whizzing noises, mesh together to create a whimsical soundscape complimented by cheerful crooning and dizzying melodies.

“The Boy Who Murdered Love,” set to be the next single released from the album, is among one of the most immediate standouts on the record. In the song, Vickers recounts a love gone sour with the most biting of lyricism and pained delivery: “You’re the boy who murdered love,” she begins, “cold hands and a heart of stone. You’re a Midas in reverse, you’re the king of pain and hurt.” Everything about the song burns with broken-hearted anguish, resulting in one of the most delicious of the electro-pop confections on the record.

“My Hip,” which features Vickers herself taking a turn on the trumpet, is another highlight. Taking a break from the lush, ethereal electronic sounds for a brief foray through frantic, skipping beats and trumpet flares, the singer charms her way through a gleeful crush. It’s both adorable and addictive.

Vickers’ only cover on the album is also a delightful surprise for music fans, The Sugarcubes‘ song, “Hit.” Vickers’ version blends in effortlessly with the rest of the record, replacing the groovier original beats with bright, poppy synthesizers and swirling electronic beats. As it (unsurprisingly) turns out, the singer’s voice takes well to Björk‘s throaty yelps, making it sound more like an original selection than a mere karaoke attempt.

The ballads, however, are a bit more temperamental than the uptempo offerings. “Four Leaf Clover,” for instance, is an overly soggy misstep that, aside from the song’s lonesome verses, never fully redeems itself from a rather cliched chorus. The same applies to “Me & You.”

It is only with “N.U.M.B.” and “Notice,” two incredibly sophisticated slices of adult pop, that Vickers truly raises the bar for the rest of the album and firmly establishes herself as more than just a pretty voice. The proof comes three and a half minutes into “N.U.M.B.”, as Vickers tackles the final repetition of the chorus expert delivery, emitting a soaring, heartbreaking final note that comes crashing down. Chills.

Vickers’ debut is far more exciting and listenable than most of what’s come out of the X Factor/Simon Cowell hit machine as of late. Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree is a highly listenable, engaging album of lush electronica that proves why Vickers is much, much more than simply a finalist on some reality show.

God, I love press releases. New photo alert!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s fourth studio album, now titled Straight Through the Heart, will be released this summer.

Along with the new Freemasons produced single “Bittersweet,” the album will include tracks with Calvin Harris, Richard X, Metronomy, Liam Howe from the Sneaker Pimps and Cathy Dennis. There will also be another new Freemasons collaboration on the album.

No word on whether or not “Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)” will make the album, but its lack of mention makes me suspect that it will not see the final tracklisting.

This album is going to be without flaw.

It’s difficult to appreciate Heidi Montag as a human being.

At first glance, she isn’t much more than your typical blonde bimbo socialite; a plastic Barbie making bank from a talentless role on a “reality” show gallivanting around L.A. to fill the narcissistic need for attention like a spray-tanned crack addict with a flesh-color beard creeper of a husband.

But there’s another side to her–a weird one: Her personality is fragmented and strange, bouncing from the hyperbolic fame whore staging fake, elaborate photo-ops for the paparazzi and claiming her album to be on par with Michael Jackson‘s Thriller, to the self-effacing, D-List embracing character portrayed in “Overdosin’,” to a pseudo born-again conservative Christian spouting off 140-characters-or-less bible verses on Twitter with one hand and signing off on photo stills for her Playboy spread with the other.

Not unlike Sarah Palin, Heidi Montag is either a comedic genius or an air-headed blowhole. It is possible that she may be a combination of both. For a while, I thought she could be the Antichrist.

And now, after endless unnecessary EP releases and a doofy, worm-like performance at the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant that seemed like a PG reinterpretation of Britney‘s 2000 VMA performance, we have Superficial, a gift that truly keeps on giving.

One couldn’t stand to write a review of Superficial without first exploring the “vocals”: The work done on Heidi’s voice is, if nothing else, astounding. While many rich, socialite brats and mega pop stars–yes, even my beloved Britney!–are no strangers to Auto-Tune (I’ve been told that the pitch correction for Paris Hilton‘s debut took over eight months alone), Heidi’s digital reconstruction is downright impressive.

It seems that not only can Heidi not sing (at all), but that the engineers couldn’t even stand to allow an instance of her true voice on the album without first melting it down with pitch-assisting, machine sound for a single second. At least Paris Hilton could command a lazy, if not a slightly sultry whisper: Heidi doesn’t even get the option of breathing on this mess.

That being said, Heidi spent a reported cool $2 million on this album to get the finest in the industry, and that she did: With songwriting credits from Cathy Dennis, Steve Morales and Chris Rojas, Superficial has a slew of songs that are well-written and, in theory, are quite good.

“Look How I’m Doing” and “Turn Ya Head” are delicious guilty pleasures, providing thick, dance-worthy synths piled atop Montag’s verses to the point where the lyrics are barely intelligable. Further on, “More is More” is about as close to a genuine hit as Heidi comes on the album, meshing a naughty chorus (“More is more on the dancefloor, it’s fucking chaos in here”) with a vaguely addictive synthesized beat.

“Twisted” is another delight, reveling in Montag’s toilet paper-thin delivery and manic, computer-controlled pitch changes. It’s actually a pretty well-written song–its only downfall being that it wasn’t released by a real artist first.

In her riskiest move (can I really call it that?), Heidi takes the already hypocrisy-ridden ‘Christian’ side of her persona and drives her values even deeper into the ground with “I’ll Do It.” The song, a slinkier reaction to the album’s mostly hasty offerings, features a handful of awkward come-ons meant to sound enticing (a failed attempt), while simultaneously presenting the album’s greatest lyrics: “I brought some treats / I know that you gon love em /Come eat my panties off of me.”

There are some hilarious, just-plain-bad numbers as well, including “My Parade,” which includes a farty marching band stomp and a truly hellacious set of lyrics about being defiant and young. Picture a balloon slowly deflating while being held by a sad, crying clown–that’s “My Parade” in visual form.

Heidi’s oft-published delusions of grandeur help to solidify this album’s non-genius genius, as in this morsel from EW:

“Most artists, it’s not their own money, but I’ve actually gone broke putting every dollar I’ve ever made and my heart and soul into this music. For me, I have a different appreciation, a different understanding, and a different love of my music and for my album than any other artist possibly could.”

If that’s the case–if we are to believe that Heidi’s heart and soul are found here in these songs (none of which having been penned or even co-penned by herself), you’ll learn nothing that you haven’t already on the cover of Star Magazine, aside from the fact that she wears edible undies from time to time.

To be blunt, I don’t think Heidi knows who Heidi is. Fake and real seem to be distinctions that serve no purpose in Heidi’s blurred perception of the world. How she actually wishes to be perceived is an even deeper mystery. She is superficial, and superficiality may be her only reality. So really, the album is actually quite personal and deep when you think about it.

Just kidding.

For tongue-in-cheek pop flop enthusiasts like myself, Superficial is truly a goldmine: In all honesty, it’s a fun album. She’s a terrible singer, but there’s a certain cheeky, camp appeal to the whole ordeal.

Surprisingly hooky, hilariously bad and devoid of vocal talent, Superficial is not, as most would expect, an utter train-wreck…it’s just a good ol’ shit show.

It’s a familiar situation: The songwriter seeking to transition to the stage.

For some artists, it’s worked. For others, not so much: While it seems Lady Gaga has all but eclipsed the songwriter title with her newly found icon status, other incredibly talented heavyweights, including Cathy Dennis (“Toxic,” “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”) and Linda Perry (“Get The Party Started,” “What You Waiting For?”) have garnered a moderate, niche popularity that, while enough to establish a devoted following, ultimately pales in comparison to the success enjoyed by the superstar singers of some of their greatest works.

It’s hard to say exactly where Keri Hilson will wind up along that scale. As one of today’s leading modern pop songwriters, she’s already proven herself as an accomplished talent, with credits on such radio smashes as Britney‘s “Gimme More,” Omarion‘s “Ice Box” and Timbaland‘s “The Way I Are.”

Yet her solo career singles, including “Energy” and “Knock You Down” have largely wavered in popularity. Of all the singles off of In A Perfect World…, the most successful of them all happen to sport a “featuring” spot from the likes of Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and other mega-wattage superstars, ultimately begging the question: Can Keri carry herself as an artist in her own right?

“I Like” is Keri Hilson’s latest release, a German-only single penned by David Jost (Tokio Hotel) and Robin Grubert released on December 11. The song was selected as the theme song for the German film, Zweiohrküken, and has since peaked at #1 on the German Music Charts.

Though “I Like” seems destined to slip past the world’s radar, the smooth, slinky electro-tinged number happens to be one of Hilson’s finest solo tracks–and ironically, one which she had almost nothing to do with. According to an interview with songwriter David Jost, Hilson was selected because he thought she would supply “the perfect voice” for the track.

In a perfect world, this song would be rocketing up the radio charts right now, but just because the rest of the public hasn’t caught on to this sublime track doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t.

I like, I like…I love.

Fun fact in advance: This post was inspired by the fact that
I absolutely had to post this new photo. Vavavoom!

From Sophie’s new-and-improved website:

The first single is released early April. It’s called `Bittersweet’ and with it I have once again collaborated with the lovely and very talented Freemasons. It’s a good introduction to the fourth album because, as with the majority of the record, it’s a song you can dance to. The new tracks feature collaborations with Calvin Harris, Metronomy, Cathy Dennis, Richard X and Ed Harcourt. It’s been a lovely experience to make this album and I am so looking forward to sharing it with you all.

As we’ve come to find out, Bextor recorded the track while undergoing a rare condition known as BPO, or Brilliant Producer Overload. The song was written by the Freemasons (“The One,” “Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)”), Richard Biff Stannard (“Love At First Sight,” “New York City Lights”) and Hannah Robinson (“Chewing Gum,” “Me and My Imagination”), according to her newest post.

I am beyond excited by the very possible chance that “Bittersweet” will consist of Sophie monotoning the word “Biii-tahhh-sweeet” over a thumping, sparkly Freemasons synthesized beat.

Furthermore, I am beyond ready to hear something that can be described as nothing less than ‘amazeballs.’